This invention generally relates to load cells for measuring compression force.
A load cell is a device having strain gauges for converting an applied force or load into electrical signals. The load cell is structured such that the applied force or load deforms the strain gauges. The strain gauges convert the deformation (i.e., strain) into electrical signals. A load cell usually consists of four strain gauges in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. The electrical signal output by the Wheatstone bridge is typically on the order of a few millivolts and requires amplification by an instrumentation amplifier before it can be used. The output of the load cell is processed using an algorithm to calculate the force or load being applied to the load cell.
Load cells can be used to measure reaction loads between components during structural testing. The capacity and height of the load cells must meet the particular requirements of the structure being tested. In particular cases where a low-profile high-capacity load cell was needed because the available space in the area of contact between two components was small, it was found that known off-the-shelf measuring devices with sufficient capacity had too high a profile to fit in the available envelope. In particular, load cells based on beam bending or shear web designs result in relatively thick structures.
There is a need for a load cell that matches existing devices in capacity but has a much lower profile.